MHCA to deputies: let’s rewrite the infrastructure investment model
MHCA President Lorenc addresses Deputy Ministers’ Dinner
We should all dream big for Manitoba’s future and a good first step toward to economic growth is rethinking the way infrastructure is funded across the provincial government, MHCA President Chris Lorenc says.
Lorenc delivered that message in an address to provincial deputy ministers, assistant deputies and senior cabinet officials at the Fairmont Hotel, where the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce held its annual Deputy Ministers’ Dinner June 6th.
The first step is to prioritize infrastructure investment dollars to focus on those capital projects with the biggest return on investment to the economy, and that means putting trade-transportation infrastructure at the top of the list, Lorenc said.
About half of Manitoba’s GDP — $32 billion – comes from trade.
“We know that as trade deals get upended in some countries, there are new opportunities opening in new lucrative markets for Canadian goods. Other jurisdictions and provinces are gearing up and we must, too. We cannot afford to get left behind.”
Lorenc noted that Manitoba’s value of trade in 2016 was less than half that of Saskatchewan’s and just slightly higher than New Brunswick’s. It is time to muscle up, to compete.
Manitoba cannot move products to market if it does not have seamless, efficient trade transportation routes and corridors.
“Because its role is so critical to our economy, multiple economic reports conclude that trade-enabling infrastructure investment delivers the highest returns on public sector invested dollars. It boosts the GDP between $1.30 and $1.60 for every $1 of investment – in the same year.”
The province should start by examining where all its infrastructure dollars go now, and why.
“We need to pull apart the current model, re-imagine how to engage policy planners and decision-makers across departments, with all levels of government and with the private sector, setting aside parochial priorities for the sake of economic growth that will benefit everyone,” Lorenc said.
Click here to read the full text of Lorenc’s address.
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